Florida Atlantic’s Brian Wright set to interview for job he has excelled at for the last month

Brian Wright will interview this week for a job he has done as well as any coach at Florida Atlantic in the last six years.
Wright has won all four games since replacing the disgraced Carl Pelini on Oct. 31. And while Pelini deserves credit for turning around a program that declined dramatically in Howard Schnellenberger’s final three seasons, Wright took it to another level that Pelini had not achieved on and off the field.

Wright, though, is saying all the right things about this period of limbo, not only for himself but for the program as it awaits to see if it receives a bowl bid, that is looking unlikely.

“I think we’ve grabbed the attention of some folks nationally,” he said. “That’s good for Florida Atlantic University, that’s good for all of us involved in this program. The support here has been unbelievable from (AD Pat Chun) and the administration. They’ve been great throughout all of this.

“And I told the guys we were going to write a positive FAU story and we did that and it certainly has meant a lot to the folks associated with Florida Atlantic.”

Wright also understands and supports the process Chun is going through.

“I can look in the mirror and say we laid it on the line, we did everything we could possibly to with no regrets and I’m very proud of that, I’m very proud of our staff, I’m very proud of our players for that. I still think at the end of the day the administration here and Pat Chun have to make the right decision for this university whoever they think that is, and we all have to respect that.

“I said it from Day 1: I think Pat Chun is going to hire a great person, a great leader and a great football coach. Hopefully that’s me. I truly believe he will hire the right person whoever that is.”

Wright has been contacted about other jobs. He wants to be a head coach and said that would be his focus.

“I am confident I will have that opportunity,” he said. “I believe I will have an opportunity to be a head coach, if not now, if not this year certainly in the immediate future.”

Meanwhile, the staff is recruiting this week while the players take finals and Wright will have them on the field for a practice later in the week just in case a bowl opportunity comes along.

“We are proceeding as if we’re playing,” he said.

As for the bowl situation the numbers do not bode well for FAU: There are 70 spots, 77 teams are bowl eligible and three more (SMU, Rutgers, So. Alabama) need one more win.

FAU is the seventh bowl-eligible team from Conference USA, which has six bowl tie ins and six teams with at least seven wins.

“We made a strong case,” Wright said. “I think we have quite the story that would pique the interest of the nation and grab someone’s attention.”